This Year In Baseball: Hat's Off

Now that baseball season is over, it's time for my season review of the year in Major League Baseball.

First of all, hat's off to the Boston Red Sox for winning the World Series.  There was a lot of tough competition this year, and comming back from being behind 3-1 to the Indians in the ALCS was no easy task.  The Red Sox have the two best post season hitters and the two best post season pitchers that the game has ever seen.  Personally I was pulling for the Rockies throughout the post season, but I've always had a soft spot for the underdog.

I think the biggest hat's off salute of the season goes to Barry Bonds for breaking Hank Aaron's career home run record.  There were a lot of things about this home run chase that bothered me, but none of that has to do with Bonds.  I am extremely disappointed with the way the media and others handled this amazing record.  Unless you have lived on a deserted island in a cave, you've heard about the steroid scandal that has surrounded Barry.  To all of the skeptics, I simply have one question.  Has he ever tested positive for steroid use?  I grew up watching Bonds throughout his career, and I've seen how he has grown as a player.  Simply put, he's worked his ass off.  Think of how much bigger you would be if you were in the gym every day for 20+ years.  Besides that, how hard is it to hit a 90+ mph fastball with that little bat?  I sure as hell can't do it.  He is one of the most talented and greatest players to ever play this game, and I can't wait for him to be inducted to the Hall of Fame.  I hope for his sake that this will all one day pass and he is remembered for what he should be known for.  One of the greatest to every put on a uniform.

Sticking with that same theme of powerfull hitters, I also need to give a hat's off to Alex Rodriguez for becomming the youngest player to reach 500 career home runs.  A-Rod has one of the most exciting swings in baseball.  There has been a lot of talk this season about how he chokes in the playoffs.  It is true that his stats aren't the best, but look at the rest of the Yankees statistics for this post season.  I don't care who it is, one player can not make or break the fate of a 25 man roster.  With the exception of Hughes and Damon, nobody did much of anything in the fall classic this year.  They lost to the better "team".  Hell as far as I'm concerned without Rodriguez, the Yankees may not have even made the playoffs.  All that said, Alex did opt out of his contract with the Yankees.  Reportedly they were prepared to offer him a 5 year deal worth $150 million.  I hope that he did not turn down the club because of not having a good enough offer.  As far as I'm concerned, no player is worth that much money.  I hope it's because he realizes that he really doesn't fit the Yankees organization.  With that team a player has to be accepted by the New York public and media.  I didn't see that with Alex.  Whoever he does end up with will probably pay too much.  No disrespect toward Rodriguez, he is one of my favorite players of all time, but like I said nobody is worth that amount of money.  All that money should be used for fan fair and player development.  Big contracts like that take the purity out of the game.

On the other side of the ball, hat's off to New York Mets pitcher Tom Glavine for becomming a member of the 300 win club.  These days that's the most elite club in baseball.  I've always been a huge fan of Glavine's finese pitching style.  I grew up watching the fab five (Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Avery, and Smith) during the era of the Atlanta Braves.  I also love that fact that the media has left Glavine alone, and let him stay on the mound and do his thing for so many years.  He is still one of the most fun pitchers to watch.

From a larger point of view, I can't leave this blog without a hat's off to the Colorado Rockies for what they have done at the end of this season.  I think everyone, including me, picked the Rockies to finish last in the NL West.  They showed us all up by storming through the playoffs and sweeping their way through the NLCS.  Sure they got swept in the World Series by the Red Sox, but let's face it, the Sox were the best team all year, and they played stupid good in the World Series.  Except for Todd Helton, there were no really huge names on the Colorado roster.  They showed everyone how baseball should be played.  No big egos and no majorly overpaid contracts.  From guys 1 through 25, it was a group that simply played baseball together, and worried about what they had to do to win.